Ledger’s Chief Technology Officer Charles Guilmet made the point in his post. That means the entire world’s crypto infrastructure, from websites to crypto asset networks, will need to be quantum-proof before that period ends.
Based on post-quantum transition timelines set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for 2030 and 2035. Mr. Guilmet said the past nine years was “not a long time.”where he urged the community to take action.
The ledger manager also opined that the deadline would be more manageable for a centralized system, saying, “Google’s CEO can order a transition in 2029 and it will happen.”
On the other hand, for networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum, the risks are different, although Guilmet didn’t specifically mention them. “It’s not a technical issue. It’s a decentralization issue.”I wrote. These structures raise issues that governance needs to agree on, such as what algorithms to employ, how to perform migrations, what to do with coins that don’t move in time, and how to handle the increasing size of post-quantum signatures in block space.
In that sense, Google’s recent report on quantum computing and cryptography found that although the Bitcoin protocol offers a narrow attack surface against quantum computers, Ethereum may have advantages– As the organization leading technology development and adoption, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is able to orchestrate protocol changes more nimble than the decentralized Bitcoin community.
Solutions exist, but there is a lack of urgency.
Guilleme separates the two planes. First, he believes that the technological tools are available, stressing that post-quantum cryptography has been around since the 1970s and that NIST has already standardized algorithms.
But secondly, he believes: “What’s missing is urgency.”. Ledger’s CTO’s central argument is that the real threat is not Q-Day itself, but the erosion of confidence in cryptography that has already begun: “Confidence in the security of our systems is already at an inflection point.”
Regarding which algorithm to use, Ledger took the following position: Guillemet said the company supports ML-DSA.It is one of the standards approved by NIST because of its improved hardware support and performance, executives said. He did not rule out other standards, but noted that they have disadvantages when compared.
As such, companies, developers, and ecosystem analysts continue to debate deadlines and mechanisms for the post-quantum transition, which cannot be postponed beyond 2035 according to NIST standards.
(Tag translation) Bitcoin (BTC)
